‘Fancy offence’: New registration plates being introduced in capital

Over 28,000 tickets issued for use of fancy or personalised plates, tinted glasses in 2014

ISLAMABAD: Despite penalties, motorists continue to use tinted glasses and ‘fancy’ or personalised registration plates of various sizes and names inscribed on them. They maintain that the design of the official plate is “not attractive”.

To counter the practice, the Excise and Taxation (E&T) Department has decided to launch new computerised registration plates for vehicles in the capital, said E&T Director Nauman Yousaf on Tuesday.

Many motorists prefer to use “attractive” licence plates of their choice instead of displaying the official one.

Plates lacking uniformity make it difficult for officials to distinguish between a legal and a fake number plate. At times even registration numbers on these fancy plates are illegible.

While sharing details about new plates, Yousaf said that they would be available in three colours — yellow, white and green — with a distinguishing colour at the bottom of each plate.

Yellow would be used for commercial vehicles, white for private, and green for government vehicles, the director said.

Currently, he said, only white plates were being used since 2006 and the department had received a number of complaints regarding colour fading and small digits.

In 2006, the department had launched computerised vehicle registration system in the city and since then white number plates had been issued to the users.

“It is essential to upgrade the number plates a modern touch,” Yousaf said.

At present, the cost for a pair is Rs500, but the price of the new plates would be a bit higher than the existing ones, he said. The new plates would also help the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) to differentiate in the kind of vehicles, while imposing fine as well as maintaining record.

The matter of the new plates is pending because the chief commissioner has not yet approved it, an official at the commissioner office said, adding he was likely to approve it within two months.

Tickets for fancy offence

Meanwhile, the ITP has issued over 28,000 tickets relating to the offence of use of “fancy” number plates and tinted glasses in 2014.

Despite police efforts to discourage the trend, use of fancy plates and tinted glasses remain popular among the motorists.

“What is wrong with a fancy number plate,” asked Usman, who was driving a car with a personalized plate and had stopped at a traffic signal. “The number is original with a look far better than the design approved by the authorities,” he argued.

Salam, another motorist, admitted that people should respect the law but added the authorities should also come up with some elegant licence plates as the current one was nothing but a whiteboard. “Why should I hang a whiteboard on my car, when I have something better to go with it,” he said and moved on.

Statistics for the month of December, 2014, revealed that the ITP issued 3,931 tickets to violators for the offence of displaying ‘fancy’ number plates and 722 tickets for using tinted glasses in the capital.

The number reached 28,817 with 18,736 tickets for ‘fancy’ or illegal number plates and 10,081 tickets for use of tinted glasses from January 1 till December 31, 2014, said Senior Superintendent of Police Malik Matloob Ahmad.

“We have decided to continue the drive year-round,” the SSP said.

Use of number plates displaying names revealing casts, tribes or affiliation with a political, religious or social group inscribed on them still remain in fashion showing lack of regard for the law as well as a parochial mindset.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2015.